MOM, NTUC and SNEF release Tripartite Guidelines on Wrongful Dismissal
29 April 2019
The Ministry of Manpower (“MOM”), National Trades Union Congress (“NTUC”) and Singapore National Employers Federation (“SNEF”) have jointly released the Tripartite Guidelines on Wrongful Dismissal (“Guidelines”).
In accordance with the Employment Act, dismissing an employee without just or sufficient cause is wrongful. With the transfer of the adjudication of wrongful dismissal disputes from the Ministry of Manpower to the Employment Claims Tribunals (“ECT”) on 1 April 2019, the Guidelines provide a reference for mediators and adjudicators at the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM) and the ECT respectively. The Guidelines also serve as a reference for human resource practitioners, employers and employees.
The Guidelines contain illustrations of wrongful dismissal, such as for reasons of discrimination, deprivation of benefits, desire to punish an employee for exercising an employment right and for providing a false reason for dismissal.
The Guidelines also include examples of dismissals that are not wrongful, such as dismissals on grounds of poor performance, misconduct, and redundancy.
Reference materials
The following materials are available on the MOM website www.mom.gov.sg: